Torres' contributions have been a mixed bag

July 02, 2012|Reuters

The Sports Xchange

MLB Team Report - New York Mets - INSIDE PITCH

When the Mets swung a trade for outfielder Andres Torres over the winter, they thought he would provide the same element of speed atop their lineup Jose Reyes and Angel Pagan did in seasons past. Torres has done so with increasing frequency of late, stealing seven bases over one recent seven-game stretch.

But Torres has also shown the ugly side of that aggression, making four outs on the bases over the weekend at Dodger Stadium.

Torres was caught stealing in Thursday's series opener, which drew little attention because of how successful he had been on the bases up to that point. But then he was doubled off first base on a hit-and-run Saturday, picked off first later that day, and picked off again on Sunday.

Torres also pulled up short in the outfield on a routine flyball Friday, giving the Dodgers their only hit in the first six innings of that game.

"I did some mistakes, but tomorrow's another day," Torres said. "I have to come back and try to do better."

Asked if there might be a correlation between Torres' mistakes and his attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, for which he takes daily medication, manager Terry Collins pointed instead to Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw's excellent pickoff move.

"This guy's real tough to run on," Collins said. "We talked about it before the game. I don't think he saw the good move until he got picked off."

But Torres made all of his other mistakes with other pitchers on the mound and is not helping the Mets with his bat much, either. Battling a calf injury early in the season and a massive slump upon his return from the disabled list, Torres is hitting just .205 in 57 games.

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MLB Team Report - New York Mets - NOTES, QUOTES

--RHP R.A. Dickey went 5-0 in June with a 0.93 ERA in what was easily the best month of his major league career. In 48 1/3 innings, Dickey allowed 21 hits, walked eight batters and struck out 55. He also became the third Mets pitcher in history to win 12 games before July 1.

--SS Ruben Tejada went 2-for-3 with a walk and a run scored Sunday, notching his 11th multi-hit game of the season. Torres is batting .341 (27-for-79) in road games this season versus .283 (17-for-60) at home.

--RHP Dillon Gee lost Sunday's game to the Dodgers in large part because of a series of defensive errors behind him. But he still managed to record his eighth quality start in nine tries, the lone exception coming June 26 against the Cubs. Gee is 3-4 with a 3.38 ERA since May 20.

--The Mets went 13-10 in April, 15-13 in May and 15-13 in June. The last time they posted winning records in April, May and June was in 2006, when they went a combined 47-32 over the first three months of the season.

--2B Daniel Murphy has heated up after a massive slump in June, which prompted manager Terry Collins to quip, "I didn't know Dan Murphy could get in a slump." Since busting out of it, Murphy has driven in 10 runs over his last four games and hit his first three home runs of the season in a three-game span last week.

BY THE NUMBERS: 2.76 -- LHP Johan Santana's ERA, which ranks 10th among qualified NL pitchers. Despite that number, Santana did not make the All-Star team, along with six of the pitchers ranked above him in ERA.

QUOTE TO NOTE: "You've got to look at the bright things that we did well here for the past four days. If we can just take that into the next series, we should be fine." --Gee on the Mets' loss to the Dodgers on Sunday. The Mets traveled home afterward to prepare for a three-game set against the Phillies.

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MLB Team Report - New York Mets - ROSTER REPORT

MEDICAL WATCH:

--RHP Frank Francisco (strained left oblique) went on the 15-day disabled list retroactive to June 23. He plans to begin throwing off flat ground July 2 at the team's spring training complex in Port St. Lucie, Fla

--LF Jason Bay (concussion) went on the seven-day disabled list June 16. He said he felt better and was cleared to resume physical activities during the last week of June. Bay is scheduled to swing off a tee and run July 2 in front of members of the Mets' medical staff at Citi Field. If all goes well, he could be cleared to begin full baseball activities in Florida.

--OF Mike Baxter (displaced right collarbone) went on the 15-day disabled list retroactive to June 2.

--RHP Mike Pelfrey (swollen right elbow) went on the 15-day disabled list retroactive to April 22, and he was transferred to the 60-day DL on May 4. He underwent season-ending Tommy John surgery May 1.